News

Despite weather extremes, Nebraska cattle producer says herd is healthy

An Eastern Nebraska cattle producer says extreme weather swings are adding additional challenges to keep their herd healthy this spring.

Joan Ruskamp of Dodge tells Brownfield pen conditions change daily, but she hasn’t seen any foot rot or respiratory illness. “I say that, and I want to knock on wood because everyone feels like when you say it, you see it,” she says. “Our nutritionist and research keeps giving us better ways to add trace mineral packages to our ration.”

She says keeping pens clean has been a challenge with Mother Nature this spring. “It has been a roller coaster because we’ve received 10 inches of rain in the last month or so and when we get 4 inches at a time in a 48-hour period it definitely makes conditions challenging,” she says.

Ruskamp says they’re facing extremes in temperature with back-to-back 80-degree highs two weeks ago and windchills in the upper teens this week.

Ruskamp and her husband feed about 3,000 head of cattle between Howells and Dodge.